Surprisingly Edible (and healthy) Parts Of Foods

Food waste is a huge problem affecting America, but there are many steps we can take to change that! Turns out there are lots of food we choose to only eat certain parts of, and we wind up throwing away highly nutritious and tasty food parts because we were taught not to eat them. Today we look at the benefits and uses of “scraps” like banana peels, watermelon rinds, strawberry stems, orange rinds, pith, onion skins, liver, broccoli stalks, beef heart, carrot tops, pineapple cores, veal tongue, beat greens, cucumber peels, kiwi skins, tripe or animal stomach, and the risk of cherry pits! Have you tried any of these foods before?

I LOVE reading your comments and take your suggestions seriously. If there’s a subject you want me to discuss or something you’d like for me to react to, leave a comment down below. Many of my videos have been born out of suggestions directly from you, so don’t hold back!
-Doctor Mike Varshavski

Help us continue the fight against medical misinformation and change the world through charity by becoming a Doctor Mike Resident on Patreon where every month I donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity, organization, or cause of your choice! Residents get access to bonus content, an exclusive discord community, and many other perks for just $10 a month. Become a Resident today:

Let’s connect:



* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *

** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

[methmiliyanage]

I actually didn't know that broccoli & cauliflower stalks, pineapple cores and carrot tops aren't usually consumed😅. It's always been natural to me & my family to eat them.

[Matthew-trzw]

Dr Mike: "Cucumber peels..."
Me: *sees stock photo of someone peeling zucchini*
Also me: *confused screaming*

[yazkaylah]

honestly i did not know until now that there are people who don’t eat cucumber peel or the stalk of broccoli?? i’ve always ate them whole so that was actually quite funny to hear

[bims]

1 strawberry stem 0:13
2 zest and pith 0:31
3 outer onion skin 0:53
4 liver 1:20
5 broccoli and cauliflower stalks 1:41
6 watermelon rhines 2:05
7 beef heart 2:27
8 carrot tops 2:44
9 pineapple cores 3:00
10 veal tongue 3:23
11 banana peel 3:42
12 beet greens 4:17
13 cucumber peels 4:37
14 kiwi skin 5:05
15 tripe/animal stomach 5:24

[hibaester]

I love that when Mike is talking about the cucumber a zucchini or courgette is shown. Also I didn't know people peeled their cucumber, I only do it when there's a dent on the side or something

[EmmaAnimalWelfare]

Petition for Doctor Mike to eat and review these on camera... Remember last time he ate a whole banana including its skin and nearly vomited? The entertainment we never thought we needed 😅

[CharleyWales]

1:04 My mum cuts an onion in half, with the peel on, and puts it in stew when she cooks that. She says it gives the stew flavour and nutrients without having to have bits of onion floating in your stew. She takes the halves out when its cooked and it legit works. I always asked why she put the skin and she said her grandma told her it was nutritious. Thanks for explaing a century old family tradition Doctor Mike!

[marv]

I’m from Peru and we eat the animal products in the video fairly often:
• anticuchos (cow heart)
• pesto pasta with fried liver (liver)
• cau-cau & mondongos a la italiana (tripe)
• some southern varieties of locro (cow tongue)

[kidney]

Thank you Dr.Mike for all your efforts in educating people about nutrition! Eating right is crucial for good health, and yet so many people don't even know where to start when choosing what to eat.
Just wanted to add one food fact: the healthiest part of the grape is the seed! Once desiccated and pulverized, it's one of the most powerful anti-oxidants on earth!

[nicocchi]

The only I've actually eaten here is broccoli/cawliflower stalks. In fact, I didn't think people skipped them?
The rest are like, the hard peels/skin? It makes sense people don't eat them even if they're edible and good for you.

[arjunr]

As a south Indian, my mother always puts watermelon rinds in curries, and honestly, its really good. Crunchy, juicy, just the best

[Piracanto]

As a Mexican, we already eat the Liver, Stalks, Tongue, Tripe, Pineapple Cores and Cucumber Peels. Heck, we use the pineapple peels to do a drink (Tepache) and some people eat the Mango Peel as well.

Survival FTW.

[ilstthegam]

As a child, I was so disgusted by the white part of citrus fruits, that it took me nearly half an hour, to peel every last white bit off🤦‍♀️

[kekort]

I want to see Dr. Mike eat everything he just promoted and give a taste review.

[Daniel_WR]

Same thing with lemon. They contain many vitamins, minerals, and fibers, so they are beneficial to your health. However, you should consider that they may be covered in insecticides, pesticides, or protective wax covering, so you should wash them thoroughly before eating them.

[Roastys]

I always thought it was weird when people didn’t eat their broccoli stems. I have always ate them.

[pugz]

Fun(?) Fact: "Organic" doesn't mean free from pesticides. It means it can only have a limited selection of pesticides, which can still be just as harmful.

[NumPad]

My girlfriend always saves me the cores when she prepares pineapple. She thinks it’s a cute quirk that I eat them; I just like chewing on stuff and the tougher, fibrous cores are perfect for that. And they’re still decently sweet and juicy too!

[amy]

Being an Indian, we are always been told to eat the skin of most of the vegetables & fruits. Watermelon peel is used either to make pickle or vegetable, just an example out of many others. Proud Indian ❤
This video though a reminder to everyone around the world to consume whole food, leading to reduce waste. ❤❤❤

[HappyMatt]

Did anyone know that Carrots weren't originally orange? Natural carrots were purple in color, but there were two uncommon variants in yellow and white coloring. Orange carrots were selectively bred from these variants in celebration of William of Orange but became preferable after that because they're apparently easier to grow, which is why they're the carrots we see so often on store shelves today. I just thought about that when Mike brought up how nutritious carrot stems are.